Dragoncrest Cliffs By fire and sword, we'll take back our world.

For a long time, Dacio had felt little but the awful numbness that followed his mother's death. He'd gotten by the best that he could through every tragedy that followed; duty to Drageda was what truly kept his focus. Even on the days that he didn't particularly want to share the company of his comrades, the young Gona felt grounded by them.

Despite all the heartache to sweep over them, the pack remained. He still had his father and a sister to turn to, who he could rely on for support and offer his own in return. For all the love Dacio held for his sire, it was @Opalia to whom he felt closest. She'd accompanied him willingly into the snow to fulfil a bizarre promise he made to the Portia in his dreams, never once dubbing him "crazy" or cursing him for their failure. He was yet to find the words to describe how grateful he was for that.

He sought his blonde sibling then, eager to share his most recent troubles with her. The sterling youth wandered along a patrol route she frequented, white-tipped snout rummaging here and there in search of a fresh trail to follow.

Dacio knew where to look, so it didn't take him too long to find her in the midst of her solo patrol. She had been out alone, but considering returning to check in with Aure before she roamed back out again--just to be sure her or Verx didn't need anything that maybe she would be able to help get. After that, well, maybe she could find dad, but she had seen him not so long ago; he probably wanted to be left to his own, too.

She lifted her head from that prowl when she could hear footsteps threading towards her, louder by the moment too. It was the familiarity in their rhythm that kept her concerns quiet. They were, after all, so readily drowned out by all else that had descended upon her life in the recent weeks, and when she could see sterling silver, she paused to wait up for him. He was welcome company, so she only chuffed a soft greeting that didn't quite make it into a hei.

When at last he detected Opalia's trail, the young Gona was swift to pursue it. He quickened his stride through the redwoods, eyes and ears alert for any further sign of her.

She noted his approach, pausing to let him catch up to her. Dacio moved in with a low, rumbling greeting as he dipped his dark muzzle to nudge a golden flank, before he lifted his mossy gaze to seek the mismatched hues of her own.

"There's talk of leaving among the kru," he told her, holding back the delicate information of who might be considering such betrayal. Opalia was especially fond of their pale-furred Skayona and each corner of his mouth tugged downward in a thoughtful frown.

He knew that his sister would not join them. They were bound by blood and duty, had shared a womb together. Opalia knew him better than anyone ever could, and he was certain that, like him, she'd sooner die than be marked natrona.

With him, she was perhaps among her most comfortable. Even with all that weighed on her, and thus why her greeting was so subdued. I know, she sighed, though frowned openly, although she couldn't say she felt it was the wrong choice. Here, at the cliffs, tragedy after tragedy had come to them and she was starting to worry what would be next--what else could she lose? No wonder Aure did not want her babies to greet a fate such as that one, after what had happened to Verx especially. All of it left a hurt she could not even fathom in full.

She didn't like it, though, and knew what it meant, so it did not need said. Even if they splintered off, and for perhaps the first time, she almost understood. This was not like when Sequoia, Wildfire, and Kiwi left them, and even different from Dalia. The gona was learning how it all could be so different, now the tiniest shift in things caused everything to turn out some new and wild way...

And dad was talking about some of the other branches, she said, quieter than before as she reined in her feelings on it all. She had only managed to make him to tell her a little about them, but all of what he knew was through others, he said, so maybe there was not as much as she hoped. He had never gone, even if he had not been born on the lands of the cliffs like she and Dacio had been. Leaving, if not now, anytime, was not easy to imagine for her so suddenly. About the new heda, too.. she mentioned through a tired sigh after the terrible cascade of bad news this winter had been--and now spring was hardly looking any better. This wasn't what she wanted, even as her skin grew calloused from coping, constantly, with whatever new strife came their way.

"I know," she sighed, and Dacio briefly lifted his dark ears in surprise. Mossy green eyes blinked into her frowning face, alight with concern that she had not sought him to share such information as he had for her. He initially felt stung by her choice to keep her knowledge from him, but was swift to realise that it didn't matter: all that counted was that she would not be swayed by the others' doubt.

He huffed a breath as she mentioned her discussion with their father regarding other branches, for he was entirely disinterested in uprooting from the cliffs. The possibility that Dio might even hint at taking his leave appalled him, though he refrained from jumping to conclusions. "This is our home," he said, voice confident as he tilted his chin upward. "We're Drageda and we belong here, we should fight for it."

Heda and some of their comrades had gone to aid one of their sister packs in war, so why couldn't a scout be sent to retreive their soldiers?

Opalia's ears stayed back, and frowned hard. Anything beyond the loyalty to the cliffs and the routine she had always generally known had come as a difficult topic to swallow for her. Her usual curiosity stifled, and she'd much rather just turn a blind eye to it and will it away. It had felt that way since the first murmurs of anything resembling such, and now that things were progressing rapidly all around her, it was not getting any easier to deal with.

Dacio was right, however, and the words aloud gave her strength to back her nod. It was their home, always had been for her, and maybe that was part of why. She knew nothing else and had no real desire to. Even when she scouted about, and enjoyed the landscapes reaching far and wide, it was the cliffs she wanted to return home to still despite all the recent strife.

Why was this so easy to just.. quit, though? This was home to her and she didn't want to leave it behind so suddenly. It just didn't sit right with her. I know, she repeated, since it applied. If only just the two of them were enough. She wished so badly. We could, she said lowly, dreaming of being plenty cunning enough to take them apart--starting with the black-headed witch, then the red one they let get away, then for fun, that squirmy dark girl Mallaidh had almost captured.. But this was very out of her reach still, however, a good distant goal she wanted to hold fast to. Well. I think... one day we definitely will. Maybe that's why everyone is so eager to let go now.. so they can go regroup? she tried to reason through a grimace. But I still hate it, she was determined not to let it get worse than that as she glanced to Dacio, simmering sadly.

Let go. To hear her say the words sent a cold shiver along the length of his spine, and the sterling youth shuddered as he glanced away from her. Opalia was right, but he wasn't prepared to accept Drageda's fate just yet. She was sure to tack on how she felt of the matter, though, but it was not enough to soothe his simmering fear that she might consider moving on with Aure - without him.

He fixed her with a firm look, one heavy with sorrow as she rose her mismatched eyes to meet his gaze. Dacio had already witnessed two of his sisters shed their names in favour of a life that didn't include their family. He couldn't stand to lose Opalia to the title of Natrona, too.

"I can't go," he rasped, voice thick with emotion as he broke his stare and turned his face away for fear that the golden yearling might see the the grief that tugged his expression into that a troubled frown before continuing on a more frantic note: "I made a promise to find Dalia. It was the only thing that Mother asked of me, I..." Dacio furrowed his brow, then squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm not ready, Opalia." Maybe he never would be.

In the wake of everything that had happened, rapid-fire recently, she didn't like feeling so torn--even if these were very secret, very buried sorts of thoughts at all that only got stirred up when almost everyone around her either seemed ready to give up, or just flee entirely. I don't want to go, she added too, shifting her weight around and keeping a frown held fast while she felt oddly detached for saying so. This was not something she had aired in front of their dad, but her relative silence on the matter probably spoke enough; she didn't want to leave the cliffs for good, and especially not on such a somber, sad note.

But just as how this was happening quickly made her terribly uneasy, and she was beginning to catch on that new options could still evolve in the midst of this. Taking in her brother's piece on it served to remind her as she saw the chance here. Then we have to find Dalia, she said, very serious. If he'd promised, and if that was all. They couldn't do that to mom, and Opalia did still feel bad that their first search had failed so badly--and that she had not picked up trace of their sister while out on the road with Aure--not even a hint. But it still had to get done, and all despite Dalia's abandonment of Drageda since to her this had always been a family sort of thing anyway. Now it was even more important that they see her.. at least once.

I think we should try again, at least. The weather's better, and we know more too. she suggested, despite the timing and all the implications of seeing their family and pack head on off elsewhere. We can catch up, go later.. or whatever it takes, she said quietly as she tried to search his face, but with a sigh as it felt downright treasonous to even think it at all--yet was it, if they scouted on behalf of Drakru still?

The sterling youth was relieved to hear his sister specifically included herself in sourcing Dalia's whereabouts, and his expression softened somewhat. He opened his eyes and sought her own, a shimmer of appreciation in the hint of his smile. In that simple statement, Opalia ignited new hope within him; she'd remain by his side, no matter Drageda's fate.

He wasn't ready to let go, wasn't ready to give up on his birthplace and definitely wasn't prepared to pledge himself to a new Heda. While Blixen hadn't asked for the title of commander in their leader's place and was troubled by inexperience, Dacio's loyalty lay with her.. She was a constant in his life, someone he knew he could follow.

The young Gona nodded in quiet agreement to his blonde sibling's mention of better weather, listening as she suggested catching up to the others - wherever they might decide to head off to. "We'll figure it out," he vowed, though there was a waver of hesitation in his voice because he didn't know how Opalia would feel about what he prepared to announce: "but... I think we should try to find Sequoia, too." He rumbled lowly. "Because I want her to suffer for what she did to us."

She didn't hesitate an ounce when inserting herself right alongside his goals, especially not now when everything else seemed so uncertain, and he took this in stride it appeared. It could be something to hold fast too, and it was one she wanted to see come to fruition anyway--so she was going. Now there was more urging her to stay beside him than before..  with the risk of leaving the cliffs as a home entirely a very real, very foul possibility too.

Opalia sensed they were at a pivotal crossroads, and regardless of where it was meant to take them all, she wished to stay with him when nothing else seemed rightfully within her grasp. This decision she could control, and she reached to nudge her snout against the side of his to say that she meant it--encouragement, too! We will. Dad might not like it much, but.. he will have Blixen, Artaax, Tirgatao, and the others too.. she said, sighing through her nose after when she thought about saying goodbye to him.. even if it was meant to be temporary, it didn't sound any easier to do. Her stomach dropped just thinking about it.

But it was what he proposed next in bring up Sequoia that might have cut those considerations a little short for now. Her ears perked and quick-thinking, she was shifting gears fast towards the possibilities that endeavor could bring about--and found she did agree. She had done her best to stamp out the embers of that bloodlust, but the coals were still awfully and she was ominously bright-eyed to Dacio's suggestion to make their sister pay for all the hurts. It was all too appealing. They were stronger now, and she had bottled a lot of frustration about that entire event and even before when her and Sequoia had failed to get along.

It wasn't the most wholesome of goals, but an easy one to get away with far away from Drageda as it returned to assimilate into Trigeda anyway. But a lofty one, perhaps. They didn't know a whole lot, nor about what their sister had been up to in the meantime. Meanwhile, the coastal siblings had grieved, trained, explored, fought, and seen battles older than them play out. She didn't boast it aloud, but this was what guided her, and kept the waver from her voice. Do you think we can find her? she asked, although did not want to say too much. A lot could be at stake for them but did they have that much to lose in trying? She doubted it. I'd try, too.. Wonder if she ever missed us, the golden sister sneered, but everything about her said she was ready to face these unknowns.

There was still plenty to have fall into place, but for the time, Opalia was beginning to look forward with a goal in mind. Together, she believed they could achieve whatever they desired.